Belarus: No foreign media credentials

Kyiv, Oct. 3: Belarus, rocked by weeks of protests against its authoritarian president and Western condemnation over a crackdown on dissent, on Friday rescinded the accreditation of all journalists working for foreign news outlets and said they must apply for new ones in a process that could take a week or more.

The action was the latest by Belarusian authorities against journalists and news media amid the wave of large protests that have occurred almost daily since the country’s authoritarian president won a sixth term in a disputed Aug. 9 election. “In the current situation, we are forced to exercise our sovereign right and apply the necessary protective measures, including in the form of new provisions of the regulations,” the Belarus Foreign Ministry said in a statement announcing the move.

The ministry said that journalists working for foreign media can apply for new credentials beginning Monday; temporary accreditation applications will be considered within five days, and permanent within 30 days.

The largest protests against President Alexander Lukashenko have taken place on Sundays. Earlier this week, authorities in Belarus suspended for three months the credentials of the popular independent news website tut.by, which has covered the protests. Some credentialled foreign journalists were deported in August, including two from AP, and the credentials of two Belarusian nationals working for were revoked.